Overview & Reviews

Chevrolet sells an impressively wide range of vehicles, from subcompact hatchbacks to huge vans and SUVs. If you're looking for a reasonably priced vehicle, odds are that Chevy will have something to fit your needs.

Chevrolet got its start in 1911. After William C. Durant had been ousted from General Motors, he joined forces with Swiss-born racecar driver Louis Chevrolet to found the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. The company's first offering was the Classic Six. Introduced in 1912, this five-passenger touring sedan could top 65 mph, fast for the time. Chevrolet's storied bowtie logo -- reportedly inspired by the wallpaper of a Paris hotel room that Durant stayed at -- made its first appearance in 1914.

By 1918, Chevrolet's profitability allowed Durant to purchase enough shares in GM to regain control. Chevrolet became another division of GM, and was its largest volume division by the mid-1920s. By 1927, Chevrolet outsold rival Ford, with sales in excess of 1 million units.

In the mid-1930s Chevrolet introduced independent front suspension, which provided a smoother ride over the rough roads of the day. The 1940s saw continued success with affordable coupes, sedans and pickup trucks catering to American families, farmers and businessmen.

By the mid-1950s, Chevrolet, GM's entry-level division, had added a V8 engine, power steering and brakes, power windows and air-conditioning to its list of available features, allowing luxury for those on a tighter budget. Around this time the iconic Bel Air model -- available in coupe, sedan, convertible and wagon body styles -- proved very popular. The company introduced its alluring Corvette in 1953; the vehicle was the first mass-produced car with a fiberglass body.

The 1960s saw the unveiling of the popular, air-cooled Corvair compact, which held the distinction of being the first domestic production car with all-around independent suspension. That decade also witnessed the launch of the compact Nova, the midsize Chevelle and the sporty Camaro, the latter Chevrolet's answer to the wildly successful Ford Mustang. The Camaro proved an instant hit, comprising 10 percent of Chevrolet's total sales in 1967, its first year of production.

In the 1970s, Chevy responded to changing preferences by introducing small cars like the Vega and the Chevette, and by downsizing larger models such as the Caprice and Malibu. The company combated the market domination of foreign nameplates in the 1980s by rolling out the Cavalier. By the end of that decade, trucks and SUVs had started to become increasingly popular with the general consumer, and the brand's mid- and full-size models continue to this day to be some of the most popular on the road.

The '90s and the early 2000s saw the company raising the performance bar with its Corvette (notably the Z06 and, later, ZR1 variants) and reincarnated Impala SS. Chevrolet's Silverado pickup truck and Tahoe/Suburban SUVs continued to be hits as well. By 2010, the Camaro had returned to the lineup after a seven-year hiatus.

Modern times have seen Chevrolet make significant improvements in its small and midsize car models and introduce the Volt plug-in hybrid. The latter provides a nearly 40-mile range on electric power alone, and adds to the company's already well-rounded lineup of cars, trucks and SUVs. Though today's marketplace is very demanding, Chevrolet seems poised to remain a power player through its affordable and innovative vehicles.

User Reviews:

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  GM Problem child - 1999 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
  By dave douglass - August 13 - 1:00 pm

  Back to the dealership approx. 23 times for different repairs each time. Combined with other GM problem child in my driveway I decided to rid myself of this unreliable headache. From intermediate steering shafts to leaf springs, leaking output shaft seals, frame tears, leaking weatherstripping, engine knock, power window failures, u- joints, interior falling off etc. etc. this is a big reason that the imports consistently score higher when it comes to build quality and dependability. Chevy- if this is "our truck", we in big trouble!

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  Never purchase this vehicle. horrible - 2010 Chevrolet Traverse
  By Sarah - August 12 - 1:04 am

  This car has been in the shop more than the road. Its currently in the shop now due to a blown motor. How does a motor go out like this? Ive had to have the AC/Heater repaired, had not heat or air in it, vehicle kept going out of alignment. the check engine light would not go off. This has been the worse vehicle Ive ever purchased.

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  Sad to have - 2006 Chevrolet Uplander
  By james caldwell - August 4 - 10:18 pm

  The little van has a choppy ride. It is top heavy and handles poorly. Its hard to drive.You cant take your eyes off the road. It is front heavy. Older children will be uncomfortable in back seating. I took the third row seats and put them in the garage.

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  Worst truck on the market! - 2006 Chevrolet Colorado
  By Bob Pitts - July 14 - 9:35 am

  Although the styling is nice, the performance of the truck is terrible. I cannot believe Chevrolet has sunk to this level offering a truck that is subpar with any I have ever bought. I wish now I had never walked into the Chevy that day. I should have walked across the street and purchased a Toyota. I will never buy another Chevrolet again.

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  Worst car I’ve ever driven. - 2017 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Youngah - July 10 - 3:54 pm

  Recalls on recalls on recalls, dealerships not doing anything and breaking more things every visit, blaming problems on the gas station (who did quality testing and found no issues), just an over unsafe car and no one to help fix it because it is literally garbage. Do not buy. You will hate your life every day until you can get out of your lease, which they will be sure to give you hell for.

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  This SUV is full of trouble, potentially deadly - 2011 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Wasim Quddus - April 8 - 10:36 pm

  We got brand new chevy euinox in 2011. I had to take it to dealer twice with engine trouble. My wife drives it -very mildly. It has very low millage. She had it stall in the middle of the road two times. It would just loose power suddenly. She would start it and it would run a little before stalling again. Finally it would not even start. The enigne light would come on. This happened twice. Thankfully she was not in highway when this happened. She also had kids with her. Imagine if this happened in high way at high speed. By Gods grace, she and the kids have been spared from horrific accident due to this failure. The car dealership was another unfriendly experience. I took it to the same dealer who I bought the car from. They are so nonchalant about the whole event, as if it is the most expected thing on earth to happen. They were very late diagnosing the problem, leaving us without a car when my wife needed the car for going to work (dont know if that is a bad thing or not, given the nature of its serious trouble). All in all, it has been a very bad experience. I will not look forward to buying another chevy any time soon.

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  Buy a corolla.. - 2016 Chevrolet Volt
  By Revolted - April 8 - 1:49 am

  For the cost of the car i was expecting a lot more.. So far i have owned it a few months, in that time i am at 26 times to the dealership.. It is constantly broken.. MPG in the winter is terrible.. I average 23mpg city, and about 30mpg highway.. the 1999 Sienna i owned was getting a little less, but it was also much bigger, and had 379K miles on it.. (18City 28Hwy).. The constantly broken issue is about on par for GM though, i was expecting post bail-out that they had gotten there things together.. no such luck.. The resale value is terrible, lost over 4K bucks in 3 months of ownership.. Cost to fill it is cheap, but charging it in the dead of winter is about the same as getting 23miles per 5 bucks.. which is worse than when gas was at its highest price.. now that its still cheap.. i feel ripped off.. The dealerships are good, mostly.. But the GM support of issues makes me cringe.. I would sell it, but i would take a bath and it has next to no miles on it.. Climate control is better than on the previous generation, however they still havent fixed the main issue, which was with heat on in the winter say goodbye to range.. Good: Its quick off the line, like rocket quick.. low end torque and no noise is fun,.. The radio is fantastic, sounds like the old custom stereos of the 90s seats are very comfortable Thinking... Bad: They use the cheapest strut mounts on the planet.. (They rattle) The heat is expensive The car is expensive for the MPG you actually get.. (Good warm climate car) Reliability is horrific.. GM support is worthless, whats the point of a warranty.. I have driven every other GM product as a loaner car, (the Volt is the nicest.. scary) The resale value is so bad, you are better off pushing it off a cliff.. It has zero nuts when you want to pass someone on the highway.. (1969 Beetle slow) The steering has issues on the previous version, and that makes me nervous.. (Like disconnecting, no way to turn issues) The electronic parking sensors beep when something is 20ft away but you can back the car into the wall in your garage and the sensors will never beep.. The stock tires are horrible in snow/rain.. and running non-eco tires will get you worse MPG. No Key fob issues, leaving you stranded places is a constant issue. (GM claims its due to electrical wires.. Hmm isnt this thing electric)

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  Worst mistake of my life - 2011 Chevrolet Cruze
  By Eric Maiden - March 29 - 2:20 pm

  At first I was excited to have my first brand new car but once the test drive was over and the paperwork was signed the nightmare began. My first day with the car I had a service airbag warning appear. Took it to the dealer they flashed the computer everything was OK or so I thought. Just before my first service I had noticed a bunch of extra wind noise in the cabin so when I talked to the dealership they said no problem we will fix it. However during the visit to the shop my brand new car was backed into a pole ... They tried to fix the damage but only caused more problems scratches in the plastic dents in the rocker panels paint runs ... It took over 9 months to get it back to brand new status and the noise in the cockpit was still there. The car will surge when it is first started until it gets up to operating temperature. I have had several oil leaks and it took 4 tries to get the intake manifold gasket fixed properly. The paint is flaking off that started at 40k miles the trunk button stopped working at 50k miles, have replaced all of the light bulbs (currently have 80k on the odometer) and at 78k miles the ac stopped working... Tried to get help from general motors but they refuse to admit I got a lemon I am currently in the market but will never buy another Chevy again

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  Worst Purchase Ever - 2011 Chevrolet Equinox
  By Unhappy Customer - March 19 - 5:18 am

  Ive only ever driven Hondas and made the leap of trying a 2011 Chevy Equinox. I bought a used Chevy with 67k miles on it, and 5k miles later, the A/C goes bad. The air condenser is leaking and Chevy charges over $800 for a repair. Of all my years driving a Honda, Ive never once had an A/C break and Ive driven them well over 175k miles. So much for buying an American car. It was a waste of money to buy something so un-reliable. I would not recommend this vehicle to anyone.

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  Motor poorly made - 2016 Chevrolet Malibu
  By meme71173 - March 17 - 8:02 pm

  GM is having trouble with the motors dropping the pistons. Instead of replacing parts to correct the problem. They have decided to change the oil type the car uses and do adjustments to the computer to try and correct the problem. Not a good fix, my 2016 Malibu dropped a piston at 67000 miles, and it was well maintenance. I would not recommend this car to anyone.